Faculty Accomplishments

Dr. Dhananjay K. Kaul (Hematology) was invited to give a talk at the 14th International Congress of Biorheology and 7th International Conference on Clinical Hemorheology. His presentation was entitled "Sickle Mouse Red Cells Activate Quiescent Endothelium and Result in Blood Cell Adhesion: Potential Role of hemoglobin S Autoxidation."

Dr. George began her career as a pharmacist before entering medical school at Temple University, followed by a residency in internal medicine at Boston University Medical Center and a two-year Geriatrics Fellowship at Mount Sinai Hospital. She came Einstein/Montefiore in 2007 as a Geriatric Hospitalist and Clinician Educator and was awarded a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the development of curriculum in geriatric pharmacology and medication management, which she used to develop core lectures, seminars, and publications on such topics as polypharmacy, the use of psychotropic drugs, medication management in older adults, and pain management. Her primary interest is in clinical care and education in geriatrics, with special interest in polypharmacy and drug interactions.

The Montefiore Cough Center evaluated its 1000th new patient on July 19th, 2012. The success of the Cough Center, established established in 2003 as one of the few centers in the world dedicated exclusively to the evaluation and management of patients with chronic cough, is due to many individuals, according to Dr. Peter Dicpinigaitis, Director. "Thanks to the Montefiore Medical Park staff for their flexibility with office session needs; to Dr. Vladimir Kvetan for allowing flexibility to run the Center in addition to Critical Care Medicine responsibilities and to Dr. Simon Spivack for his generosity in sharing Pulmonary Medicine practice time; to Dr. Victor Schuster who supported the idea of the Cough Center back in 2003, and to the Montefiore webmaster, as each year more and more patients come to the Center not as referrals from other physicians, but as self-referrals having found the Center online," said Dr. Dicpinigaitis.

A general internist with a long-standing interest in behavioral medicine, including adherence with medication-taking, nicotine dependence, and substance abuse, Dr. Arnsten has a strong and accomplished tenure with the Department of Medicine. Among other achievements, since joining the Einstein faculty in 1996, she has established a successful research program focused on HIV infection in drug users. bio

ELAM is the only in-depth national program dedicated to preparing senior women faculty at schools of medicine, dentistry, and public health to effect sustained positive change as institutional leaders. ELAM's intensive one-year fellowship program of executive education, personal leadership assessments and coaching, and networking and mentoring activities supports ELAM fellows as they develop a broader vision of their role within their academic health centers, enhance their leadership effectiveness, understanding of strategic finance, and ability to lead organizational change, and become part of an active resource network of women leaders.

Dr. Yuling (Julia) Chi,Assistant Professor (Nephrology), has won the first place Oral Abstract Award and the first place Young Investigators Award from the Wound Healing Society, (www.woundheal.org). Dr. Chi's research focuses on the investigation of the role of prostaglandin transporter (PGT) in vascular biology and wound healing under physiological and pathological conditions including cardiovascular disorders and diabetes. She is currently investigating the role of PGT in inflammation during wound healing to further elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which PGT modulates inflammation and angiogenesis in wound healing. Dr. Chi will be presented with her awards at the upcoming 25th Annual Symposium on Advanced Wound Care and Wound Healing Society Meeting, held April 19-22 in Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Robert Goodman, Academic Hospitalist in the Division of Hospital Medicine, was named course director for a newly developed course at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. The new course, entitled "Epidemiology, Population Health, and Evidence-Based Medicine (EPHEM)", will span two years. Dr. Goodman will be the course director for the second year: EPHEM II. The development of the new course was based largely on the excellent evaluations of the Evidence-Based Medicine course that Dr. Goodman has run for several years.

Michael Sapadin, Chief PA in the Division of Hospital Medicine, was awarded Montefiore's Staff and Alumni Physician Assistant Distinguished Service Award. This award is given to one PA who demonstrates compassion and care for patients, outstanding service to Montefiore Medical Center, and collegiality and rapport with fellow professionals. Michael completed his studies at the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education as a Physician Assistant in 1987. He went on to complete his medical studies with a Master's in Physician Assistant studies, as well a certificate in Cardiology from the University of Nebraska. Over the last thirteen years, he has worked on the cardiology service at Montefiore Medical Center Moses Division. For the last eight years, he has served as the Chief Physician Assistant for Internal Medicine, which is responsible for approximately 300 inpatients. Michael is a board certified Physicians Assistant by the state of New York.

Dr. Jacqueline Achkar (Infectious Diseases) was the co-editor of a multi-author Supplement to the Journal of Infectious Diseases entitled " Tuberculosis Diagnostics: Challenges, Logistics, and New Developments".

Dr. Simon Maybaum (Cardiology) has positioned Montefiore as one of the first institutions in the United States to participate in a clinical trial to determine the safety and efficacy of an implantable electrical stimulation device designed to improve heart function in patients with heart failure INOVATE-HF will evaluate the device’s ability to reduce hospitalization and death among patients with CHF, while also exploring whether combined treatment with the implantable device and prescription drug therapy is more effective than drug therapy alone.

Dr. David Prezant (Pulmonary Medicine) co-authored a study earlier this fall that received wide press coverage. Published in The Lancet, they reported an ongoing study of the health of 9,853 World Trade Center (WTC)-exposed and non-exposed firefighters over the seven years following 9/11, finding a 19 percent increase in cancer risk among NYC firefighters who helped in the recovery.

Dr. Vladimir Kvetan (Critical Care) reports that the fifth ultrasound and cardiac echo program for all New York metro intensive care fellows was held at the Gottesman Center simulation facility in October. The program is a joint effort of Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA), United Hospital Fund’s Critical Care Leadership Network, and Montefiore Medical Center. There was also a " Symposium on Critical Care Controversies" led by Dr. Kvetan and the same organizations in Manhattan in November.

Dr. Paul Gaglio (Gastroenterology & Liver Diseases) was honored by the American Liver Foundation Greater New York Division on September 27th at its annual gala. Founded in 1997, the American Liver Foundation Greater New York Division serves New York State and Northeastern New Jersey, providing services including support groups, liver wellness education programs, a national helpline, fundraising events, and volunteer opportunities. The Division has successfully served thousands of liver disease patients and their families. See the American Liver Foundation website for more information.

David Hamerman, Distinguished University Professor at Einstein (Geriatrics) has authored a landmark new textbook entitled "Geriatric Bioscience: The link between aging and disease". This book has already been very well reviewed. From the amazon.com pages: "This groundbreaking work provides clinicians and researchers with a solid foundation for a greater understanding of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of age-related diseases as well as recommendations for promoting healthy aging." The Journal of Clinical Investigation also gave it an extremely positive review: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/36963

In honor of James Scheuer, Emeritus Chair of Medicine (Cardiology), the Division of Cardiology created an annual teaching award in his name, starting with the graduating group last spring (winner was Paul Eugenio).

Robert Ostfeld (Cardiology) received an Excellence in Medical Education Grant from Einstein. The project is titled "Learning from Our Own Patients: Developing a Library of Cardiac Auscultatory Findings and Testing Its Ability to Improve Auscultatory Skills".

Gabriele de Vos (Allergy & Immunology) has been awarded the "ACAAI Young Faculty Support Award" for 2008-2009 from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology for one year, starting 11/1/08 for her research project "Efficacy of Subcutaneous Immunotherapy in Reducing Asthma Morbidity in Young Children at High Risk for Developing Persistent Asthma".

Markus Bitzer (Nephrology) has been selected as a recipient of a 2008 Young Investigator Grant from the American Society of Nephrology.

Jacqueline Achkar (Infectious Diseases) received a seed grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to support her collaboration with Sarita Shah, Neel Gandhi, and the local collaborators in South Africa to work on rapid TB diagnosis in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Dr Achkar's paper "Differences in Clinical Presentation among Persons with Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Comparison of Documented and Undocumented Foreign-born to US-born Persons" will appear in the Nov 15th issue of the journal "Clinical Infectious Diseases".

Victor Schuster (Nephrology) was selected Treasurer of the International Society of Nephrology, the world's largest professional academic nephrology association.